Sitework for the Rabbitbrush solar mission
Leeward Renewable Energy (LRE) has closed $58.5 million in building financing and secured tax fairness commitments for its Rabbitbrush Solar Facility, positioned in Kern County, Calif.
Wells Fargo served as the executive agent on the development financing, and Silicon Valley Bank and MUFG served as joint lead arrangers. Wells Fargo served as inexperienced structuring agent, and Wells Fargo, Silicon Valley Bank and MUFG additionally had been the bookrunners. The debt was issued beneath the Green Loan Principles, which goals to facilitate and assist environmentally sustainable financial exercise. J.P. Morgan offered roughly $12.5 million in tax fairness financing and has agreed to speculate a further roughly $50 million as soon as the mission is operational, which is anticipated to happen in August 2022.
The Rabbitbrush Solar Project is presently beneath building and, when accomplished, could have a solar era capability of 100 MW. The mission additionally integrates a 20 MW, 50 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS). The mission makes use of 415,000 photovoltaic modules offered by U.S.-based First Solar.
“We are pleased to have secured financing for the Rabbitbrush facility, which will be LRE’s first financing for a solar and BESS facility,” feedback Chris Loehr, LRE’s CFO. “This is the first of many LRE solar and BESS financings to come as we build out the contracted pipeline in 2022 and 2023. We appreciate the strong support from our offtake partners and participating financial institutions, and we look forward to working together throughout the lifecycle of the Rabbitbrush project.”
Energy generated by the mission can be offered to not-for-profit, community-owned electrical energy suppliers Central Coast Community Energy and Silicon Valley Clean Energy via two beforehand introduced 15-year power buy agreements.